Melanie
September 11th, 2006, 10:06 AM
Man admits murder in first double jeopardy case Monday September 11, 04:32 PM
LONDON (Reuters) - A man cleared of killing his former girlfriend 15 years ago made British legal history on Monday when he admitted her murder in the first case to go to court again following the reform of the double jeopardy law.
Billy Dunlop, 43, was formally acquitted in 1991 of murdering Julie Hogg after two juries failed to reach a verdict. However he admitted murder at Old Bailey on Monday before he was due to face another trial.
His case was the first to be affected since the 2003 reform of the so-called double jeopardy rule -- an 800-year-old law which stipulated that a person once acquitted could not be tried again for the same offence.
The controversial change meant suspects could go on trial again if new evidence came to light and followed concerns raised by several high profile murder cases.
The most significant was the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, in which prosecutors dropped their action against five white youths despite evidence pointing to their guilt, but could then not reopen the case.
Hogg, 22, disappeared from her home in November 1989 and her body was found by her mother, Ann Ming, behind a bath panel at her daughter's house in Billingham, northeast England, 80 days after she went missing.
In 2000, Dunlop, a former boyfriend of his victim, was jailed for six years after admitting two charges of perjury arising out of evidence he gave at the murder trials.
Last November, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled Dunlop's should be the first case to be referred for a new trial because there was "new and compelling evidence".
A tearful Ming, who had staged a long campaign to have the double jeopardy law changed, said she was "just relieved".
She said she hoped her determination to bring her daughter's killer to justice would leave a "lasting legacy" to help other families in the future.
"It's been a long and difficult journey to see him standing in the dock at court today. He's done everything he could to do to avoid justice," she told reporters.
"But his lying and scheming have eventually been all in vain."
Cleveland Police said Dunlop was an "evil and extremely dangerous man" who had got away with murder for 17 years.
MAKING HISTORY
"History has been made today but more importantly justice finally achieved for Mr and Mrs Ming," said Detective Superintendent Dave Duffy.
"Together they have fought and won a campaign to change the double jeopardy law that has been a cornerstone of British justice for 800 years."
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the reform of the law had been a "significant and welcome change".
"As this verdict shows, if acquitted of a serious crime, offenders will no longer be able to escape responsibility for their act should new and compelling evidence come to light," he said in a statement.
"At last there is justice for Julie. And for her family, especially Ann, who fought so hard for this day, even coming to parliament to tell me why we had to change the law. She was right."
LONDON (Reuters) - A man cleared of killing his former girlfriend 15 years ago made British legal history on Monday when he admitted her murder in the first case to go to court again following the reform of the double jeopardy law.
Billy Dunlop, 43, was formally acquitted in 1991 of murdering Julie Hogg after two juries failed to reach a verdict. However he admitted murder at Old Bailey on Monday before he was due to face another trial.
His case was the first to be affected since the 2003 reform of the so-called double jeopardy rule -- an 800-year-old law which stipulated that a person once acquitted could not be tried again for the same offence.
The controversial change meant suspects could go on trial again if new evidence came to light and followed concerns raised by several high profile murder cases.
The most significant was the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, in which prosecutors dropped their action against five white youths despite evidence pointing to their guilt, but could then not reopen the case.
Hogg, 22, disappeared from her home in November 1989 and her body was found by her mother, Ann Ming, behind a bath panel at her daughter's house in Billingham, northeast England, 80 days after she went missing.
In 2000, Dunlop, a former boyfriend of his victim, was jailed for six years after admitting two charges of perjury arising out of evidence he gave at the murder trials.
Last November, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled Dunlop's should be the first case to be referred for a new trial because there was "new and compelling evidence".
A tearful Ming, who had staged a long campaign to have the double jeopardy law changed, said she was "just relieved".
She said she hoped her determination to bring her daughter's killer to justice would leave a "lasting legacy" to help other families in the future.
"It's been a long and difficult journey to see him standing in the dock at court today. He's done everything he could to do to avoid justice," she told reporters.
"But his lying and scheming have eventually been all in vain."
Cleveland Police said Dunlop was an "evil and extremely dangerous man" who had got away with murder for 17 years.
MAKING HISTORY
"History has been made today but more importantly justice finally achieved for Mr and Mrs Ming," said Detective Superintendent Dave Duffy.
"Together they have fought and won a campaign to change the double jeopardy law that has been a cornerstone of British justice for 800 years."
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the reform of the law had been a "significant and welcome change".
"As this verdict shows, if acquitted of a serious crime, offenders will no longer be able to escape responsibility for their act should new and compelling evidence come to light," he said in a statement.
"At last there is justice for Julie. And for her family, especially Ann, who fought so hard for this day, even coming to parliament to tell me why we had to change the law. She was right."